Chapter 28: Startle the Snake While Cutting Grass

  After the sun came out, Qin Hu and his two men returned to the inn with a dejected look on their faces. Upon seeing Fang Yiai, Qin Hu sighed and said: "Young Master, it's really strange. We kept watch all night without even blinking, but nothing happened at Tongfeng Valley."

  "Hehe" Fang Yi lightly smiled and let Qin Hu sit on the chair, "Uncle Tiger, if nothing happens then it proves our guess is correct. Yesterday during the day we found out that Tong Feng Gu definitely has someone there, but at night nothing happened, which means the other side must know you guys are staking them out."

  "Young master, are you saying that every move we make is being watched by the other side?" Qin Hu was a bit puzzled now. Fang Yi Ai nodded and said, "That's right, I'm afraid our every move in Tongfeng Valley is being seen clearly by the other side. Tongfeng Valley must have hidden places for people to hide, otherwise where did those missing people go? And Liu Sheng must have escaped from Tongfeng Valley too, and what about those strange wheel tracks?"

  "Master, what should we do now? Since the other party has discovered us, they will definitely not make any more moves. And we can't stay in Malyu Town for too long," Qin Hu said with some worry, and Fang Yiai also nodded in agreement. After thinking for a moment, Fang Yiai leaned forward and asked quietly, "Uncle Tiger, do you have any acquaintances in Liangzhou?"

  "Ah, yes, Liangzhou Governor Xiang Fei used to be Master's deputy general, I'm quite familiar with him." Upon hearing Yu Hu's words, Fang Yi'ai whispered excitedly: "Tiger Uncle, you set off for Liangzhou immediately and have Governor Xiang issue a proclamation saying that Tongfeng Gorge has iron ore deposits. The entire Tongfeng Gorge will be excavated in the near future."

  "Oh, young master, are you trying to stir up trouble? Qin Hu suddenly understood what Fang Yi Ai meant. Qin Hu was delighted now, it seemed that the old man's disciple not only had a talent for martial arts, but also had a clever mind."

  Fang Yi nodded and smiled, "Tiger Uncle, you let Xiang Cishi come to Ma Liu Town in person, this will be more convincing. Also, don't follow Xiang Cishi back to Ma Liu Town, after you finish your business, take people to hide ten miles west of Tongfeng, I'll find you then, and we'll have a 'guarding the tree and waiting for the rabbit'!"

  "Alright, young master, I'll set off to Liangzhou now." Qin Hu bowed to Fang Yiai and turned around to leave the room. Before long, the sound of horseshoes could be heard. After Qin Hu left, Fang Yiai shouted out towards Qin Yong and others outside the house: "Uncle Yong, get ready, we're leaving Ma Liu Town tomorrow!" Qin Yong and others were somewhat perplexed - wasn't the ghost case still unresolved? Why leave now? However, since Fang Yiai had said so, they wouldn't say anything. They cupped their fists in response: "Yes, young master!"

  "Second Master, are we really leaving Maliu Town tomorrow? Won't we investigate the Tongfeng Valley matter?" Linglong was somewhat puzzled, as giving up halfway wasn't Second Master's habit. Fang Yiai smiled wryly and whispered, "Linglong, speak softly, who says that just because we're leaving Maliu Town, we can't investigate the Tongfeng Valley matter? Hehe!" Upon hearing this, Linglong couldn't help but smile, as she understood that Fang Yiai must have had a plan.

  The next day, Fang Yi Ai and others rode their horses to leave the inn. When they left, they still passed through Tongfeng Valley in a grand manner. Fang Yi Ai wanted to let the other party see with their own eyes that she had already left Ma Liu Town.

  Not long after Fang Yi'ai and the others left, a masked man reported to another masked man: "Master, Fang Yi'ai has already left Ma Liu Town!"

  The hall master let out a voice that was neither male nor female, "Is that so? You're sure he's already left?"

  "The master of the hall, I personally saw him leave, and I followed him for five miles before returning"

  The hall owner furrowed his brow, nodded and smiled sinisterly: "This guy has finally left, tonight we'll move out and take all those arrows away!"

  "Ah, Master, isn't this great? Fang Yu'ai has also left, we're no longer in danger!"

  "Otherwise, I just received news that the Liangzhou government has issued a message saying that Tongfeng Valley has iron ore. The government will excavate Tongfeng Valley in the next two days, so we must move as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late." The master of the hall explained slowly.

  "Master of the hall, what about those people who were caught?"

  "Do I need to tell you this? It's simple, kill them all for me, not a single one can be left alive!" After hearing the master's words, the black-clothed man felt a chill run down his back, that was over a hundred people, and the master actually said to kill them.

  Liango State Governor Xiang Fei arrived at Ma Liu Town soon after Fang Yi Ai and others left, making a big show of his arrival with drums and gongs, as if afraid that others wouldn't know he had come. After checking into the post house, Xiang Fei said to his chief clerk, Geng Ming: "Geng, Chief Clerk, please spread the word and let everyone in Ma Liu Town know that from now on, Tongfeng Valley belongs to our government, and it's got iron ore!"

  Geng Ming was speechless towards this governor who used to be a soldier, and had no idea where he got the news from. He actually said that Tongfeng Valley has iron ore, Geng Ming thought it was too unbelievable, but he couldn't do anything about it since he was just a chief clerk.

  The whole town of Ma Liu soon knew about it, and everyone was discussing the iron ore in Tongfeng Valley. Now the entire Tongfeng Valley has become a treasure trove. The town of Ma Liu is boiling, but the master is getting anxious, pacing back and forth, thinking only of hurrying to transport the arrows away. If these arrows fall into the hands of the government, things will get out of hand.

  Fang Yiai and his entourage have now joined forces with Qin Hu, who was accompanied by dozens of officials when they met. As soon as he saw Fang Yiai, Qin Hu smiled and said: "Young master, the mission has not been in vain. I believe that Xiang刺史 must have arrived at Moliu Town by now!"

  "Alright, Uncle Hu, let's have a stakeout tonight and wait for the other party to make a move. I'm sure they'll take action." Fang Yi laughed loudly, as long as Xiang Fei arrived at Ma Liu Town, he believed the other party wouldn't be suspicious, and there would definitely be a harvest tonight.

  At night, Qin Hu and Fang Yi'ai hid behind a hillside. Before long, Qin Wen ran over excitedly and said: "Young Master, there's something going on! Just now, more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages came out of the west pass, and there were also more than 20 black-clad masked men."

  "Haha, it seems our plan has worked, Uncle Tiger get ready, tonight we'll catch this group of people off guard and see what kind of tricks they're hiding! " Fang Yiai excitedly waved his hand, Qin Hu and a group of officers all drew their waist knives and quietly waited. Before long, the sound of horseshoes could be heard. When the convoy reached the foot of the mountain, Qin Hu shouted "Take action!" In the time it took for the black-clad men to react, they saw a group of people rushing down from the top of the slope. The black-clad men were subdued by Qin Hu and his men before they could even resist. Fang Yiai curled his lips in disappointment, feeling that this was too easy, the battle had ended before he'd even had a chance to join in."

  Fang Yiai waited for a while on the mountain slope, and then Qin Hu walked over with a black-clad man. Fang Yiai looked at the black-clad man in front of her, who had an ordinary face, about thirty years old, very average. Fang Yiai furrowed her brow and asked: "Tell me, what kind of people are you? And where are the townspeople you've taken away?"

  The man in black hesitated obviously, Qin Hu said unhappily: "Kid, you'd better tell the truth, otherwise Grandpa has thousands of ways to make you speak!"

  "This young master, it's not that I don't want to say, but I also don't know!" The man in black said with some fear.

  "Do you think I'd believe you? Aren't you the leader of this group?" Fang Yiai didn't believe a word the black-clad man said, taking a knife from Qin Yong and placing it against the man's neck as he coldly spoke, "I don't want to waste words with you. Now tell me, what's your name, and which organization do you belong to? You'd better not test my patience. If you dare try any tricks, I guarantee this knife will cut off your head!"

  "The..." The man in black lowered his head and thought painfully. He could feel the coolness coming from his neck, so he was afraid.

  "Gongzi, my name is Wang Nianren. As for the organization's situation, I'm not too clear about it either. I only know that the organization's name is 'Houling', and that's all I know." Wang Nianren saw Fang Yiai's cold gaze and was afraid that Fang Yiai wouldn't believe him, so he immediately knelt down on the ground and started knocking his head, "Gongzi, I really didn't deceive you! I'm just a peripheral member of Houling, and I've always been following the orders of the leader to do things. And up until now, I don't even know if the leader is male or female."

  "Uncle Tiger, what's in the carriage?" Fang Yiai didn't respond to Wang Nianren's words, but instead asked Qin Hu. Qin Hu furrowed his brow and said: "Young master, the carriage is full of arrows, and they're all wolf-tooth arrows!"

  "What?" Fang Yiai also couldn't help but ask Wang Nianren, somewhat surprised: "Isn't Wolf Tooth Arrow equipment only for the military?"

  "Yes, but there are indeed wolf fangs in the car, and not a small number." After hearing Qin Hu's words, Fang Yiai felt an unspeakable fear rising up in her heart, afraid that she had stirred up a hornet's nest. So Fang Yiai irritably said to Wang Nianren: "Wang Nianren, I don't want to waste time now, tell me how many wolf fangs are in the car and how many were transported out previously, give me a detailed account!"

  "Gongzi, there are a total of 830,000 wolf-tooth arrows in the car. More than half a month ago, over 10 million were transported away. Now, in Tongfeng Valley, there are still more than 7 million unassembled wolf-tooth arrows!" After hearing Wang Nianren's words, Fang Yiai and Qin Hu simultaneously took a cold breath. This is nearly 3 million wolf-tooth arrows, enough for hundreds of thousands of troops to use. If a war were to break out, the destructive power would be enormous.

  "Who did you give the Wolf's Fang Arrows to?"

  "Gentleman, I don't know either. Last time when we delivered the Wolf Tooth Arrows, Master Tang made us send them to Niu Jia Village twenty miles away and then chased us away. So, who actually took the small Wolf Tooth Arrows is also unknown." Wang Nianren now didn't dare to hide anything either, because he could see from Fang Yiai's eyes that this young man was already furious, if he made him uncomfortable, he would absolutely kill someone.

  Fang Yiai closed his eyes, what kind of organization is this Monkey Spirit after all? It's so powerful and yet does things with such caution. Wang Nianren still doesn't even know if his superior is male or female to this day. Fang Yiai rubbed his temples and looked at Wang Nianren saying: "Now take us to Tongfeng Valley, take us to your hideout!"

  Wang Nianren nodded his head in a gesture of unwilling submission, now he had also given up, anyway he had already betrayed the Monkey Spirit, doing more things would not make any difference.

  Following Wang Nianren, slowly heading towards Tongfeng Valley, the closer they got to Tongfeng Valley, the stronger the uneasy feeling in Fang Yiai's heart became, vaguely sensing that something was about to happen.